NMD’s Exhibits and Programs

• Make the connection between good oral health and a healthy life
• Change the way people think about and take care of their smiles
• Inspire people to seek the care they need to maintain a healthy mouth for a lifetime

ON SITE
Discover fascinating hands-on exhibitions, sing along to vintage toothpaste commercials, and celebrate the heritage and future of dentistry at NMD’s historic location near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

• Opened in June 1996.
• Became an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution in 2001.
• Received Congressional designation as the nation’s official dental museum in 2003.
• Provides innovative, age appropriate, oral health-based educational programming for school groups, families, and the annual Dr. Jack W. Gottschalk Lecture for professionals.
• Hosts 10,000 on-site visitors annually in 7,000 square feet of exhibition space.
• Houses a collection that includes 40,000 objects related to the history of dentistry.

Exhibitions

• The permanent exhibition 32 Terrific Teeth features Queen Victoria’s gilded dental instruments, George Washington’s denture and the world’s only Tooth Jukebox, playing vintage dental commercials.
• Your Spitting Image is the first museum exhibition to highlight the impact of the Human Genome Project on dentistry and oral health. Highlights include:
• Saliva: A Remarkable Fluid, targeted to middle and high school students, uses computer interactives, experiential activities, and video displays to explore what saliva is made of, how it works in the body, and what happens if salivary glands become impaired. 
• Forensics: Solving Mysteries gives visitors a chance to become members of a disaster recovery team and understand the key role dentistry plays in identifying victims of mass disasters and solving missing persons and criminal cases. 
• Bioengineering: Making a New You focuses on tissue generation/ regeneration as it relates to dentistry. Visitors learn about ground-breaking research that may lead to ways to provide patients with natural teeth to replace lost teeth. 
• Celebrating Dental Education gives dental schools in the United States and Canada a place of honor at NMD. A touchscreen design gives access to the unique stories concerning the past, present and future of these outstanding institutions.  Also available online at www.dentalmuseum.org.
• In MouthPower, elementary school age children can role play a visit to the dentist in this interactive learning laboratory featuring a kid-size dental chair, white lab coats, and mock X-rays—plus hands-on models that teach the parts of a tooth, how to brush and floss properly, why to say no to tobacco, and the importance of healthy eating.
• Narwhal: A Whale of a Tooth featuring a 13-foot, life-size model of a male narwhal, explores the science and mythology of the Arctic whale that has mystified scientists for decades.

ONLINE

• This NMD web site provides a wealth of information about the museum and includes materials for teachers as well as activities for children.
• MouthPower® Online (www.MouthPower.org) shares the power of a healthy smile with children across the country through an entertaining and educational web experience developed in partnership with the American Dental Association. More than 130,000 unique visitors have explored Mouthie’s interactive online laboratory to learn how to keep their smile sparkling, make healthy food choices, and steer clear of the pitfalls of tobacco. Now available in English and Spanish.

ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Traveling Exhibition Program
To reach a national audience, NMD develops traveling exhibitions that tour museums and other venues throughout the U.S. and Canada, providing the public with engaging information about oral health.  Since 2002, the Traveling Exhibition Program has reached more than 2 million people at children’s and science museums and other venues in 21 states.

• MouthPower® mascot Mouthie guides children ages 5–8 in a hands-on discovery of the power of a healthy smile through vibrant modular learning stations that can be configured to any space. Children can learn to brush their teeth on a larger-than-life mouth, explore the parts of a tooth, learn the dangers of tobacco, and play a part of the dental team in a child-size dental office complete with chair, clinic coats, and radiographs.
• Branches, Bristles and Batteries: Toothbrushes Through Time teaches children and families about the evolution of the toothbrush and how to achieve good oral health. This interactive exhibition has proved to be a useful tool to bring museums and local dental communities together to deliver important oral health messages to the public.
• The Future is Now! African Americans in Dentistry pays tribute to the movers and shakers who paved the way for African Americans’ success as dental professionals through dramatic portraits, moving memoirs and inspirational stories. Through a partnership with the National Dental Association, the exhibit has been hosted by museums and universities across the country.

Support Groups
Local and national support for the museum comes from individuals, corporations, foundations and dental organizations across the country.

• The museum’s Board of Visitors, National Advisory Committee and National Allied Advisory Committee include dentists, dental professionals and corporate and community leaders representing most states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Canada. 
• The Marketing Advisory Council, composed of marketing experts from the dental industry, leads a national effort to create a more extensive awareness of the museum, broadening the base of friends and financial support for the Museum.

Pillars Campaign

• The Pillars Campaign, a five-year $8 million campaign, was launched in 2006. Chaired by Dr. Les Seldin, the campaign will build endowment and raise funds to ensure the future growth and success of the museum.